Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos!
Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 May 24

Love and War by Moonlight Credit & Copyright:
Fred Espenak (courtesy of
www.MrEclipse.com)

Explanation: Venus,
named for the Roman goddess of love, and
Mars,
the war god's namesake, approach each other by
moonlight
in this lovely sky view
recorded on May 14th from Dunkirk, Maryland, USA.
The four second time exposure made in twilight with a digital camera
also records
earthshine
illuminating the otherwise dark surface
of the young crescent Moon.
Venus shines as the third brightest object in Earth's sky,
after the Sun and the Moon itself, and has been appearing
as the brilliant
evening star in the
pantheon of planets
arrayed in the west during April and May.
Here, Venus' light is so intense that it produces a noticeable spike
in the sensitive camera's image.
Much fainter Mars is lower in the picture, caught between tree
limbs swaying in a gentle evening breeze.
By early June, Mars will be harder to
spot as it wanders toward the horizon, but Venus and
father
Jupiter will draw closer together,
presenting a spectacular pair of bright
planets in the west.